1. Show up

There are enough examples of FCS opponents rolling into a major program’s stadium and walking out with a win — most famously Appalachian State’s 2007 win over Michigan — for Clemson to take this game seriously. That being said, it’s difficult to make the case that Coastal is capable of pulling such an upset. The Chanticleers lost last week to Stony Brook and were trounced by Liberty in their previous outing, scoring just two touchdowns and rushing for fewer than 2 yards per carry across those games. Bottom line: even a mediocre effort by Clemson should be more than enough for a comfortable win Saturday. However, the last thing the Tigers need is to come out with a sloppy effort and take a step backward as a football team.

2. Bring the pain

Coastal Carolina has allowed eight sacks in its last two games, and it’s hard to imagine that Stony Brook and Liberty have pass rushers to rival Clemson’s tandem of Da’Quan Bowers and Ricky Sapp. The pass rush is perhaps the Tigers’ greatest improvement this year, as they’ve already recorded six more sacks (20) than they did all of last season. Chanticleers quarterback Jamie Childers does have some scrambling ability, but given the team’s struggles to run the ball, he could be in big trouble if the offense becomes one-dimensional and the Tiger defense is allowed to pin its ears back and come after him. Unfortunately for Childers, logic would suggest that Clemson defensive coordinator Kevin Steele has just such a plan in mind.

3. Work out the kinks

The sky is no longer falling in Tigertown and all is suddenly right with the world, but the fact is Clemson made several blunders against Miami that could — and perhaps should — have cost it the game. While some might see an opportunity here to rest the starters in the second half, the Tigers might be better served to iron out some wrinkles instead. And that means more reps for Kyle Parker to work on protecting the football and more reps for the defense to fix whatever is making it so susceptible to big plays. It would be easy for Clemson to sleepwalk through this game with its collective focus already on next week’s showdown with Florida State, but momentum is an elusive thing to recapture once lost and the Tigers need to keep the pedal to the metal.

— Steven Bradley